The NYPD has continued to arrest panhandlers for peaceful begging under a long-defunct law, raising the ire of a federal judge who last year ordered the practice to stop.

Police have issued at least 641 summonses and made 58 arrests under the illegal loitering law since a lawsuit exposing the blunders was filed in June 2005, attorneys for the panhandlers revealed yesterday.

“I think this is really offensive,” said Manhattan federal Judge Shira Scheindlin, finding that the violations could be grounds to hold the NYPD in contempt of court and threatening to issue monetary sanctions.

The practice of arresting peaceful beggars violates a city law enacted in 1992 that prohibits aggressive or threatening panhandling, but recognizes a constitutional right to beg or solicit in a peaceful manner.

Lawyers for the city said the NYPD has agreed to warn cops that they could face disciplinary action and to provide additional training – particularly in Brooklyn’s tough 75th Precinct, where most of the recent violations occurred.

Scheindlin also ordered the city to vacate any outstanding warrants under the defunct law.

Lawyers for the panhandlers subpoenaed records from the Office of Court Administration and discovered that illegal arrests had continued – with most cases prosecuted by the DA’s Offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In a letter to Scheindlin earlier this month, the lawyers argued the judge should hold the NYPD in contempt of court and impose a $10,000 fine for each violation.

Scheindlin stopped short of taking either step, but said a $100 fine per day might make the NYPD change its tune.

“All the rest of what the courts have done have not stopped the practice, and money talks,” the judge said.

“There are now thousands of people that we know of whose rights have been violated and are entitled to compensation, and we’d like to talk to each and every one of them,” lawyer Matthew Brinckerhoff said outside court.

“I think the blame goes very high up in the Police Department,” he said. “It’s pretty fundamental. Don’t arrest people for something that’s not a crime. How hard is that?” The original plaintiff in the case was Eddie Wise, 44, of The Bronx, who claimed police routinely targeted him for panhandling.

The lawsuit cites 140 alleged wrongful loitering arrests in 2003 and 2004 – mostly in The Bronx – although the panhandler’s lawyers speculated the number could be in the thousands.

At the time the suit was filed, Scheindlin ordered sweeping notification of all city cops, DA’s offices and judges to cease the arrest and prosecution of peaceful panhandlers.